government; assumes his office for his ability in making judgments. All
ministers have appropriate talents, are competent in their positions, and
can carry out their duties easily. They need neither to worry about second
jobs nor to assume responsibility for dual duties to the ruler. An enlightened
ruler ensures the responsibilities of each office do not overlap with those of
another, so there is no argument; does not make officials responsible for two
or more jobs, so they are specialized in their skills; makes everybody have
his own responsibility, so there is no conflict. (How to use men)^34
The conflicts and arguments are ceased, every official has his own speci-
alized skills, then there is no confrontation between the strong and the
weak, and there will be no infighting between those in the government. This
is the best state of regulation. (How to use men)^35
The operations of bureaucratic officialdom are designed to accom-
plish routine tasks. In addition to routine tasks, the changing environ-
ment may cause a state to encounter many new problems that demand
action to solve them. In this case, Hanfei suggested the ruler use
anothershuin supervising subordinates to solve the problem and
achieve the national goal.
Following up the project and checking the results
Han Fei emphasized that a state is destined to face many problems in
pursuing its goals. A leader has to ask subordinates to propose their
projects for problem-solving, while the leader’s own job is to follow up
the project and check its effectiveness.
All words must be evaluated by their effectiveness to attain goals. Listening
to subordinates’ words and observing their deeds, if they have nothing to do
with the effectiveness of attaining goals, though their words are sound and
deeds are firmly determined, they are all wild speeches and useless acts.
(Inquiring into the origin of dialectic)^36
Hanfei was a utilitarianist. He strongly suggested that in examining
subordinates’ words and conduct, the first thing for a leader to con-
sider is their effectiveness in attaining goals of the state. Eloquent
speeches and high-minded deeds that make no substantial contribu-
tion to the attainment of national goals are useless and should not be
encouraged. He advocated that:
Listening to a subordinate’s words, an enlightened ruler will ask for
their usefulness; Observing the subordinate’s deeds, he will ask for their
effectiveness. (Six contrarieties)^37
Leadership theory of Legalism 121